It's time once again to say "Goodbye" to 2013 and "Howdy Hey" to 2014. Every year on New Years, I think about what is in store for me. I remember last year I thought, "Holy cow, this year I'm gonna graduate and go to college and leave home. What a big year!!" And a big year it has been.
At the beginning of the year I sang with these 9th Avenue ladies at Battle of the Bands at my High School.
Over Daddy's college Spring Break came our family's trip to Disneyland! So much fun, and we were all the perfect ages for it.
Over the kid's spring break, we went for my sister's Sweet 16 road trip to exciting Moab!
Late spring brought some highly anticipated and bittersweet changes. First, the final choir concert of high school (been with these gorgeous girls singing and dancing since Junior High).
Then LDS Seminary graduation.
Then High School Graduation!!
Summer brought many things.
A second job.
My first big purchase (of my life).
My second big purchase (of my life).
A Cafe Rio Mint Limeade addiction (great way to beat the heat).
A Grey's Anatomy addiction (really, where had it been all my life??).
Diving into a YSA Ward head first by going to Summit with this girl!
Learning how to write to a bagillion missionaries due to the age-change.
Ghana
Zimbabwe
The Philippines
Callifornia, Oregon, California
Minnesota and California (again).
Then came autumn time, a new home, and a new school.
Got all packed up to move away.
Moved to college.
Signed up for/participated in my first rodeo.
Had a blast being fun and crazy!!
Now it's winter time, and the Holidays have come and gone. I'm preparing for another fantastic semester with many more adventures to come!!
As I begin a fresh new year, I can't help but think what a big year this one is. It's gonna be even bigger than 2013! "Holy cow! This year I'm going to finish up my freshman year of college AND leave on a mission." And what a wonderful year it will be.
I am feeling so incredibly blessed today. I love the family that I have. I love their impact in my life. I love that we will be together forever. I love that I get to spend so much time with them over this Christmas break!! We have had so much fun so far.
My mom brought to my attention last night how this Christmases after this will likely NEVER be the same. The next two Christmases I will be out serving an 18 month LDS mission, and after that, perhaps my sister. Life truly takes off from here.
So this year has been ever more sweet. My siblings and I slept out last night and had a good old time playing games like "Never Have I Ever" and sharing crazy camp (girls camp or scout camp) memories. This morning we have been relaxing, napping (after all, one does not get much sleep at said Sibling Sleep-Out), visiting, and playing with all the new treasures Santa left. Also, this year as siblings we went pretty all out for one another and our parents. It was so fun seeing what was important to each sibling and how each gift was received.
These days are precious. It's not gonna be like this forever, but with each new chapter our relationships shift and grow. I love how even though I've been gone for several months, I get to come home to a family that loves me. My relationships with each of my siblings has evolved into something new and exciting and I cannot wait to see what life has in store for all of us. On this Christmas Day I am thanking the Lord for the blessing of my family and the birth of His son, my brother and Savior, Jesus Christ. May we all remember this day, and always to keep Christ in our lives. Merry Christmas to you one and all!!
I was dared by a friend to sing a song and post it to YouTube. I like to sing, but I never sing solos in front of ANYONE. In my choir days (that seem like they were a long time ago, but actually really weren't) it was nerve-wracking, but easy enough to get over when it means the difference between pass and fail. Anywho, this is something different than I've ever done before. So, while you read the rest of my Christmas blog post, I give you the Little Drummer Boy. Nothing fancy. Just me, my guitar, and a practice room.
This year, Christmas has felt quite different to me. It's my first year away from my family for a good portion of the season. I wasn't there with them to decorate, put up the tree, go to the family/ward Christmas party, I haven't watched with anticipation, the growing pile of gifts beneath our tree, etc. It's so strange. In our apartment, we have:
a Christmas tree,
a snowflake filled/light covered window,
a popcorn garland,
and even snowflakes!!
We listen to Christmas music sometimes, eat Christmas treats, watch Christmas movies, we really are pretty festive. But, it is all very different than being at home. It certainly gives a whole new meaning to the song "I'll Be Home For Christmas." A song which, by the way, I used to hate and now resist the urge to tear up each time I hear. But let me tell you what I've learned and what has actually been very nice.
1. Making Christmas Gifts is so easy when you don't have to worry about someone accidentally walking in and discovering your secret.
Being a college student who lives in a college town where it's hard to get work, trying to find money to spend on Christmas presents is a little tough. I keep to a very strict budget. I have enough money for necessities, and an emergency fund in case something goes wrong. I'm kind of a tight wad, is what I'm really trying to say. However, I LOVE Christmas, and I wanted to do something special for each member of my family. So...I decided to make homemade gifts for everyone! Each required time, energy, and a certain amount of spreading out (I didn't want to give them things that looked tacky and homemade, they needed to look nice and show true thought). It was incredibly nice to have not even a sliver of risk in making the gifts! NO ONE could possibly walk in on me who wasn't supposed to. How's that for gifter/gifted confidentiality?
2. Christmas is all the sweeter knowing I've had to wait to participate with my family in the plans, the prep, the excitement.
It is so weird planning for a holiday like CHRISTMAS without my family. I've waited, decorated, anticipated without them. I haven't figured out how I feel about it one way or the other yet, but I know it's been fun in a different way than it used to be. I'm here, far from home, with this new kind of family unit within my apartment and complex. I speak with friends in my student ward about making plans to travel home, what gifts they're giving their families, what kind of service we're going to do that week for others, etc. In my apartment we've had conversations about family traditions. Lot's of conversations start with, "In my family we do this and this and this for Christmas, wanna do that here?" In the complex, there are wreaths on the light poles and buildings. In the common areas (lounge, laundromat) there are paper chains, Christmas trees, paper snowflakes, ornaments, posters. It's a full on Winter Wonderland!
3. The true meaning of Christmas remains the same no matter where I'm celebrating.
Recently there's been a lot of talk about being less discriminatory with this "Holiday Season." I'm sorry, but Christmas has been Christmas for years and years and years. No one ever had a problem before! Hanukkah has always been Hanukkah, Kwanzaa has always been Kwanzaa. We have Holidays this time of year. Some are religious, some are cultural, some are both. I don't know who decided we need to stop calling it a Christmas Tree, but whoever it was needs to just stop. **Soapbox over.** I am LDS (a Mormon). I celebrate Christmas because Christ was born 2000+ years ago. He was born in a humble stable and laid in a manger. Shepherds bore witness of the blessed event. Three wisemen came to glorify Him with gifts. A choir of angels proclaimed His birth. The world was changed forever. This is why I celebrate. This is why I want to be with my family this season. I want to celebrate, with them, that blessed event. I want to bare witness just like the shepherds did, with the miracles I witness and the words I speak. I want to glorify my Father in Heaven and the Savior Jesus Christ just as the wisemen did, with gifts of service and gifts or temporal worth. I want to proclaim the birth of Jesus Christ just as the angels did, with singing and celebration. That is the spirit of the season and that is what Christmas is all about.
In case I don't get another post in before I move and head off for Holiday, here's wishing you and yours the Merriest of Christmases and a very Happy Holiday Season. May it be spent with the people who matter most to you.
It is time once again for the 25 Days of Sweaters, my own personal Christmas Tradition to count down to that blessed day. So...I'm asking you to join me!!! This year I want you to bring out those sweaters: cute, ugly, crazy, gorgeous, or just plain insane! I'm going to be posting some of my favorites on the blog at the end of the month so get crazy!
#NewsFromTheFishbowlSweaters
@NewsFromTheFishbowl
Tag me on Twitter or Instagram and let's have some fun!!!!
And to get you pumped, here's my 25 Days of Sweaters 2012:
A very Merry Christmas to all! Let's see those sweaters!!
You Wanna Know What else? My parents and siblings have always been extremely supportive, as well as a few other family members. But outside of them, for my entire life I've gotten flack for it. Ever since I was in junior high school when I started meeting with school counselors I was always told I should be something like a doctor or a lawyer, I was even told once that a job like that was more dignified. Another time I was told my chosen path was a waste of my people skills. Well, today I am here to defend my dream and stand up to my naysayers for all the internet to read. Er, maybe I'm just here to get on my soapbox. Feel free to skip over this post if you're not in the mood.
FIRST: Doctors and Lawyers are wonderful, the world will always need them, but that is a cliche to success that EVERY student is told.
Consider this: Doctors are there when you get sick and/or need surgery. Lawyers are there when you are in trouble/need a divorce/need representation. RANCHERS and FARMERS are there to produce your food. I will take food over getting sick or getting in trouble ANY day. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to be successful in the profession of food production. The individual is in charge of their financial well-being. After all not ALL doctors and lawyers are financially stable. Likewise, not all farmers or ranchers are financially stable. Every person must learn for themselves how to be fiscally responsible.
SECOND: The job of a Farmer/Rancher is extremely Dignified.
I don't know what it is about today's society, but for some reason everyone seems afraid to work physically hard for a living. Being a laborer is considered to be a bad job. I feel the exact opposite. In my opinion, no work is more fulfilling than work where I break a sweat and get my hands dirty. Have any of you ever worked out in a garden, tilling up the ground, feeling the dirt in your hands, noticing the creepy crawlies who complete the ecosystem, planting your seeds or seedlings to produce something beautiful or delicious? It is marvelous! I'm religious, so for me it is also a testament of God's grace and presence in all aspects of our lives. To be able to go to market with your beef or pigs or chicken or vegetables or fruits or grains is a job worth holding your head up high for. What could be more dignified than bringing forward a product that you kept nourished and produced for the well-being of everyone else. It's a job that revolves around providing for the greater good of others.
THIRD: My desire to go into Beef Production is NOT a waste of people skills.
Truth: the farming and ranching lifestyle is a very rural and isolated one. Lie: farmers and ranchers lack social skills and do not socialize with one another. It is quite well known that in the cattle world Branding is a busy time of year. It is a time that brings together friends and neighbors to help one another and get a large task done efficiently and quickly. It is also well known that barn raising is another task that brings together friends and neighbors. Both situations are often accompanied with food, music, story-telling, games, and friendly banter. However, did you know that Cattle Associations all over the country also meet several times a year for forums, conferences, clinics, etc? They meet to discuss innovative machinery and technology, ways to help one another, methods to improve output, new business plans, and methods for improving advertising. These societies can be found on every kind of level from international to small chapters in places like colleges and universities. In my own university chapter of the Cattleman's Society we learn about new ways to channel genetics, advertise product, utilize land, and even start our own operations. We have keynote speakers and meet with people in the industry so that we can network for jobs, internships, and just general contacts. Being shy will not get you anywhere, you must develop your people skills.
So why do I bother stating this? I'm not sure if I felt like being stubborn. I don't know if I felt like being snarky. I do know, however, that I believe some of societies views to be a bit skewed. I believe that a person's success is not based solely on the amount of money they make, the size of the house they live in, or the type of car they drive. I measure success by the lives a person touches, the happiness they experience, and the opportunity they've taken to make their dreams a reality. Granted, one should not pass up an opportunity to be successful in an area they hadn't considered out of stubbornness, but I think there's a certain amount of a stick-to-your-guns attitude that everyone should have. I want to be successful because I make my dreams a reality, have a family, and touch the lives of many. Because success is relative. This is life as seen through the the rose colored lenses of Nat. I'd love to have your input! Leave a comment, a message, or an email. And as always, have a great day!!
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